


In A Land Marred By War

by PrinceOfUchiha



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Badassery? That's queen shit, Brotherly Bonding, Compassion? That's king shit, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy Tale Elements, Family Bonding, Fluff, Fugaku drop the children or so help him, Happy Ending, He's not afraid to add two more, Human Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama, Itachi and Kurama are protective elder brothers, Kingdom politics, Kings & Queens, Kurama is Naruto's big brother, Kushina is going to throw hands, M/M, Minato has two sons, No Incest, No harems - Freeform, Princes & Princesses, Sasuke and Naruto are...Sasuke and Naruto, Slow Burn, Uchiha Fugaku Being an Asshole, Undecided Relationship(s), no magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29777931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceOfUchiha/pseuds/PrinceOfUchiha
Summary: In a land split by war, two warriors take control: Fugaku Uchiha and Minato Namikaze. They strive for victory, each of them taking heavy steps towards their goals. Unfortunately for them, for something to be gained, something of equal value must be lost.This is something their children find out first hand.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> -Normal chapters will be longer, this is merely the prologue. I hope you enjoy the story.

Known far and wide, the name Uchiha is one with the ability to strike discomfort into even the most unrelenting of souls. Whether one lives along the mountain ridge, near the vast rivers, or amongst the evergreen trees, they are sure to have some sort of opinion on the prestigious kingdom.

Many of which are not the most positive.

The Uchiha are quick-witted scavengers dressed in formal wear, many have agreed. They threaten the villages along their border, demanding their submission and compliance. Should they be refused, they have been known to take out the small communities' fighters and force them to give up their supplies or face further punishment. 

It's always easy to tell when a village has refused, the crows flocking the sight to feast upon the remains of the poorly trained soldiers.

Small villages merge under the scorching flames of the Uchiha, becoming a kingdom large enough to do the ruler proud. Their ruler's unrelenting force and will to immerse the entire country into one single power has led many to believe that they themselves are the howling flames of war. 

The horror stories of the survivors have traveled fast, many opting to flee into the mountains, as far away as they could from the slowly increasing territory of those flames. Those who would rather flee into the unknown than kneel for a foreign king often spoke of the terror that would rush through them. Their long-winded explanations unsettled the Namikaze of the mountains, a small group who had taken to sheltering these runaways.

They say the leader of the Namikaze had even taken one of these runaways as his bride. Perhaps that was why they had made their stance against the Uchiha so loud. Undoubtedly, it was his wife's words of terror and anger as she remembered that terrible night where she was forced to flee into the mountains with her younger cousin. Her pain and suffering had become her husband's to share, the small hermit clan coming from seemingly nowhere and leaping to the rescue of the subdued. 

The leader and his wife worked endlessly to create a safe haven in the mountains, welcoming any who wanted to seek refuge in their caves while building an army to face the ones who had set the flames of war alight so many times before.

The leader of the Uchiha had at first doubted the news of such defiance, given how large their territory had grown over the years. They had conquered everything from the vast forests to the left of the river. They had hundreds of small villages under their control with a surplus of men to fight if need be. Their supplies ranged from incredible amounts of food to the most beautiful of weapons. Who would dare to fight against such an empire? 

He had been cured of these doubts as his men began coming back with wounds upon wounds, begging him for forgiveness as they spoke of the insanely fast and strong warriors who had suddenly taken to defending the villages along their borders. They claimed these warriors fought like beasts. The elements around them seemed to not hinder them in the least, most likely due to their time surviving on the mountains. They could hide in trenches for days, supposedly not needing to eat or sleep nearly as much as the others. They were inhuman, really. A threat that couldn't go unnoticed.

And so, the fight began. For years, the Uchiha and those who had sworn their loyalty to the Namikaze fought across the river, tugging and pulling for control. It seemed like an endless cycle, both sides willing their men forward with commands of capturing the enemy leader's head.

They had fought like this for years and years, never relenting. That was until Minato spotted something that made his stomach drop. The sight that changed how this war was fought stood on the other side of the battlefield, ankle-deep in water. There, across the river and suited up for battle, was a boy. A boy no older than his own.


	2. Scavenger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not the most experienced at writing fighting scenes, but I hope this came out alright! Thank you to everyone who has commented/given kudos. I hope you all enjoy the story.

"You will surrender the territory or it will be taken from you. This will be your last chance to back down with all your men unscathed." the boy's firm voice rang out across the river, pupiless eyes watching Minato steadily. His neck-length hair swung back and forth in the wind, mingling in with the others of his kingdom. Indeed, he would be just another soldier, had it not been for the fact he wouldn't even reach Minato's shoulders if they stood face to face.

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, gripping the sword in his left hand as his lips curved downwards into a glower. When he had heard that there were three villages being attacked at once, of course he had gone running to the one farthest from his castle. He had thought the Uchiha would place the most important battle farthest away to make it so that they'd have trouble reaching them in time. He'd left the other two villages to Kakashi and Gai while Kushina stayed back to guard the castle.

Which meant one of two things. Either he had given the Uchiha too much credit when it came to their well-known strategic fixations, or he hadn't given them enough. It was very possible that Fugaku knew he would have trouble striking down a child, and as such, had set this up as a keep-safe. Perhaps the Uchiha saw this as either an arbitrary win or one of great importance. Either would explain their use of the child and odd choice to attack three different villages, splitting up their men into smaller groups.

Either way, the fact remained that there was a village behind them. They had called for Minato and his men because they were frightened of the Uchiha. Child leader or not, he could not allow him to come into a village and demand their compliance for Fugaku's kingdom. "It is not my territory to give away, nor yours to take. I am giving you one last chance to surrender. Should you refuse..." he raised his sword to the side, swallowing back his usual threat of putting Fugaku's head on a pike for his men to reflect upon. "You will not end this battle an unmarred..." child, his subconscious screamed at him, "...Soldier."

Minato bit back his disappointment as the child gave a simple nod, not seeming to have any reservations about drawing his sword to match Minato one for one. The young Uchiha's hair swayed roughly in the wind as his sword was lifted to the sky, the metal smithed to fit his small stature perfectly. "So be it," he shot back before promptly calling out to his men, "Scavenge!"

With that, it had begun. Minato gave a tug to his horse's harness as he ordered, "Break the line!" knowing it was one thing all the enemy troupes tended to have in common- they were undeniably paranoid; aiming to keep their defenses as high as possible. He rushed forward, side by side with his men as he saw the opposite side do the same. The steady drumming of the horse hooves beside him kept him focused as he sliced through the enemy men, throwing them to the side with surprising ease.

Their blood splattered across his shield and sword alike as they moved forward, bodies dropping left and right. A distinct smell of iron filled the air as Minato darted back and forth with his men, who were much less concerned with keeping the line. They fought forward, using thick and solid strikes to knock the enemy to the ground. That was one advantage they had always had- the Uchiha tended to be rather small. Their tiny bodies were fairly easy to strike down, though they tended to have the advantage of a strong defense and well-trained muscle mass.

Just as he stuck his sword into an enemy rib, the man letting out a howl of pain as he stumbled to the ground, a thought that made his lips curl in disgust hit him. Was it perhaps possible that these were new recruits? If that were the case, and given their young leader, it would make sense for them to be this far away from the mountains where he resided. Fugaku must have been planning on using this as first-hand training.

His grip on his horse as he raced forward tightened, blue eyes watching his leader 'enemy' as the thought passed through his mind. His lips curled into a silent snarl at the thought, speeding to a stop as they landed in front of the boy. On one hand, it was beyond beneficial to destroy the future soldiers while they were still so inexperienced. On another, it was hard to look down at the boy in front of him and consider slicing his chest open. Where was the honor in such an act?

Minato would be almost prepared to call a retreat, had it not been for the village he knew was depending on them. He watched as the boy-- who had no horse despite his rank, Minato noted-- sidestepped an enemy he had been fighting. One of Minato's men. An ally. 

The child dodged the attacks as though they were playing a tiring game, not going down nearly as easily as his subordinates. It took only a split second for the boy to notice Minato's presence, which was all it took for him to use an opening on the enemy's knees and knock him down onto them. It took hardly a fraction of a second, and as Minato rushed closer to guard the fallen man from another attack, he was caught off guard momentarily. 

There wasn't even a vague look of hesitance from the boy before he jumped- right onto the soldier's shoulders. He rebounded off of him, landing easily in front of Minato. He stood on the horse's shoulders, much to its panic. The animal began bucking immediately, even as Minato locked swords with the boy and demanded to the horse, "Calm down!"

The small ravenet simply tilted his head at him as the horse began to buck, hair swishing at the horse's panic. He only raised a brow as the elder man tried to calm the horse, pressing his sword to Minato in an attempt at a clean-cut attack. The blond had a moment of grief as he pushed back, using the sword to slash at his legs and knock him off. Minato had intended to use the pain and horse's bucking to toss him off, but it seemed he wasn't too keen on letting that happen. 

The boy was not knocked off, at least not by his doing. The young Uchiha only pressed his knee forward, ramming at Minato despite the pain. His body pressed to the elder man's, fingers tangling into Minato's hair as he pushed all his weight onto the other. He used this weight to force them both down and off the horse. They tumbled off and onto the floor, their swords dropping to either side of them. Though the boy had ended up on top of him, it was fairly easy to flip their positions so that he was being pinned. He gritted his teeth as he kicked his foot down and onto the open wound on his leg. His hand gripped at his hair as he reached for his sword, on the off chance he was able to escape. "I warned you," he spoke, either as a reminder to the boy, or perhaps as a confirmation to himself. 

A round of cries echoed from across the battlefield, and immediately thereafter, the boy gave the grim reminder right back. "I warned you."

His head shot up, and his heart skipped a beat. His men. The many Uchiha who had been tossed aside during the breaking of the line had gotten up, attacking the back soldiers when they weren't ready for it by the looks of it. The rear soldiers tended to be the ones previously injured in battle.

Suddenly, the ease with which they had thrown the various men made a lot more sense. Gritting his teeth, Minato gripped the boy by his war tunic, hauling him up and calling to the men surrounding. "Halt! Make a move and your leader dies!"

The sound of his booming voice left the Uchiha frozen and gave his own men a moment to catch their breaths. Without exception, everyone paused, gaze resting on Minato.

This lasted for a total of fifteen seconds before the Uchiha resumed the fight, not seeming too concerned with their leader's position. A few had the decency to look hesitant about returning to battle, but the vast majority didn't spare a second glance as they lunged back at the half-beaten mountain dwellers.

Minato blinked and glanced over at the boy, who seemed to stiffen only slightly at the attention being redirected at him. Dark eyes met Minato's light blue ones, and the elder of the two found himself uneased by the look in those dark eyes. They held not an inch of panic and, much to his disturbance, no anger. It was such a surreal look of acceptance and composure that it left his brain racking for a moment.

"Well?" the boy's idle tone snapped him out of his thoughts, the little ravenet tilting his head as he continued, almost as if he were challenging him with his serious words. "I believe that's your cue." 

Minato's mouth opened only slightly, pausing as he considered what to do. On one hand, he wasn't about to off a damn kid who might not have even had a choice when it came to participating in this battle. Sure, the kid seemed to roll with it and play his part flawlessly, but it was as though he was merely acting out a role in a play. He had yet to see a trace of malice in any of the boy's movements- they had all been the same. calm, calculated, and accepting. Besides, what kind of kid willingly went out to war? As a matter of fact, what kind of parent let their kid go out to war so young?

Minato had never been a soft man, but he wasn't a monster, he'd like to think. He let go of the boy's neck for a split second, only to grab him by both his wrists when the boy moved to sprint off. He kept the young Uchiha's arms behind his back, using his obi to tie his hands together as a make-shift rope. His eyes scanned the field where the Uchiha had continued their fight with their men, shaking his head back and forth briefly. 

"Who said I was referring to you?" the half-lie left his mouth with ease as he hauled the boy closer to him, dragging him off to the side with as little roughness as he could. It didn't really help that the kid was dragging his feet, but he supposed it was better than having him thrash around. 

...Speaking of which, it was a bit unsettling that he wasn't thrashing around when grabbed and tied up by an enemy soldier. The boy followed him slowly, feet digging into the dirt as he sent back, "You'd be a fool to be referring to anyone else."

The sound of blood splatter and groaning behind him made the young Uchiha's words all the more disgusting. All these men were out here dieing for their king, who had seemed to convince them that to chose a side other than his was a death sentence. It made him sick to think that such a thought had spread to even the children of the kingdom. He didn't bother responding to the young Uchiha's pointed words, instead ordering, "Call your men off. If they don't drop their weapons soon, mine will kill them. You can't win this."

"Maybe I can't." the boy agreed with a tired look, "But that's no reason to stop."


End file.
